The city’s surfers finally have a beach to call their own. A stretch of Rockaway sand used by wave riders since the 1960s will be designated for surfers only next week – the first beach of its kind in the city’s history.

“I think it’s sensational,” said surfer Xavier Ceniceros, who lives near the Beach 90th Street spot. “I’ve been surfing there 15 years. You can’t really describe the thrill or exhilaration of wave riding.”

After a drowning death several years ago, city lawyers became nervous about lawsuits, and pushed local cops and Parks Department officials to crack down on people swimming and surfing without a lifeguard, said Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Queens).

“That’s the bottom line – it was really money,” she said.

Surfers argued they didn’t need protection because their boards float, and can be used as lifesaving devices during a bad wipeout. There’s also safety in numbers – and surfers rarely ride alone on the city’s sweetest surf spot, said Ceniceros.

Facing $105 fines, bummed-out riders began pushing to legalize the beach for their crew. Officials changed the state health code to clarify that surfing didn’t require lifeguards, which satisfied city lawyers, and the Parks Department designated it beach surfers-only by removing lifeguarding service and posting no-swimming signs.

“Most people already knew you couldn’t swim on Beach 90th Street because the surfers are there,” said Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens), who pushed the plan. “Now it’s official.”

There was little public opposition to the plan, said Pheffer.

“We in the community believe it’s going to be safer,” she said. “Surfers were only able to surf when lifeguards were there. And that’s when people were swimming.”